Hi, To all java-gaming masters,..This is my first time to post here,..Can i ask some help what good reference book for developing games in java.because i want to develop a java game but i have no idea where to start, My plan is to make a battle tank,I know lots of here already achieve this,but i want to make my own in order to explore or expand my knowledge in developing java games...

I own many game programming books, all of them using C++ as the reference language but what is important about them is not the code, it is the theoretical knowledge kept in them. How do graphics work, how do you structure a game program, how do you solve common problems, etc. etc.

If I am perfectly honest, of that big pile of books I have, about 90% of it was completely useless for practical purposes in the end. Most books hammer for far too long on setting up a development environment and rehash all the "how to program for operating system X" without even touching game development at all, before going into a rehash of the API documentation of whatever graphics API is used. Sound and input tend to be rushed single chapters while topics such as AI are a paragraph mentioning that its hard and out of scope. Chapters on wiring an actual game together tend to be of the "Yeah I built this game for you, let me print parts of the code in the book and go through it line by line" - example game being broken and uncompilable by default of course.

But still that remaining 10% was theory that stuck with me. It wasn't worth the price I had to pay for such works though, but it was all I had with no real connection to the internet yet. Nowadays: nah, use the internet.

I never finished Killer Game Programming in Java. But it was a really nice place to start to get the basic logic down.

After you get the basic logic down I don't see very much difference between normal programming and game programming. You just have different requirements, probably along the lines of high speed vs. high accuracy that you'd get in the business world.

I never finished Killer Game Programming in Java. But it was a really nice place to start to get the basic logic down.

After you get the basic logic down I don't see very much difference between normal programming and game programming. You just have different requirements, probably along the lines of high speed vs. high accuracy that you'd get in the business world.

This book, as I understand it, is a little bit out of date, being several years old now. Does the code in it still work, or would Java 7 kind of break it?

I've wondered the same thing as the OP, and I've seen the link you posted, but isn't a bit on the general side? It just tells you, in a basic way, how to progress through learning java game programming. It doesn't direct you to any specific materials on the various elements of game design. I think that's one of the biggest hurdles a lot of wannabe java game designers (such as myself) are facing, that the resources for learning those key elements are pretty sparse, and kind of strewn about in a way that makes them hard to find.

It doesn't direct you to any specific materials on the various elements of game design.

I've yet to see a resource that really covers that (properly) - its one of those things you learn through experience by making many mistakes and learning from them. I learned a lot by hanging around in IRC chats and learning on the spot from 'the masters' (people who had already been doing it for a decade). That too revolved around me doing it horribly wrong and being corrected so many times I still feel shame.

Quote

I think that's one of the biggest hurdles a lot of wannabe java game designers (such as myself) are facing, that the resources for learning those key elements are pretty sparse, and kind of strewn about in a way that makes them hard to find.

It wouldn't be so sparse if you would open up your 'world' - Java is really a niche and so of course there aren't so many resources available, game development is still the area where C++ (and increasingly C#) is king so if you want proper information, I do suggest you focus on resources targeting C++ and to use your noggin' to translate that back to Java. Its surprisingly easy actually, even C++ books tend to stick to very basic C++ which easily translates and is easily read even if you're not experienced with the language. The only thing you'd have to take a little time with is the concept of memory pointers, which I am -so- glad to be rid of. When you start to pass around the address of a pointer to a pointer, you've had enough.

java-gaming.org is not responsible for the content posted by its members, including references to external websites,
and other references that may or may not have a relation with our primarily
gaming and game production oriented community.
inquiries and complaints can be sent via email to the info‑account of the
company managing the website of java‑gaming.org